It is widely stated that veterans are heroes for what they have done. War is nearly never necessary, and killing for whatever cause should not be considered positive. While it is true that veterans have defended our country, most wars in which our country partook were for our country’s gain, and not a defense of our country, but instead an expansion of its resources and land. Our country and its soldiers have taken unnecessary and harsh actions during wars. Enduring the suffering brought about by war takes courage and perseverance, but does it show heroism? In the novel Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, Louis Zamperini survives for over two years, stranded at sea and then moving between various POW camps. He shows the strength to not give away American secrets. However, I would not say that these actions made him a hero. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, has a more accurate depiction of war. In Slaughterhouse-Five, war is shown to damage soldiers’ mental states. While Unbroken shows that soldiers are damaged, it depicts them as heroes. War …show more content…
They see soldiers and civilians dying, and are made kill others. Prisoners of war are often mistreated, and conditions for those who aren’t captured are still not given good living conditions. Many soldiers who live are injured and have near-death experiences. Billy Pilgrim, the main character from Slaughterhouse-Five, was emotionally scarred from the war, and therefore believed he was time-travelling. Little things would upset him or bring back memories of the war because of the ordeal through which he went.
In Unbroken, Louis Zamperini and his friends have emotional issues from the war. For example, Louie freaked out when his family played a broadcast he sent out from Japan. Louie also became an alcoholic after the war, due to his emotional state. One of Louis’s friends flipped a table upon seeing rice, one of the sole foods he consumed as a POW. War does more damage than good to